UTEP halts football program in wake of ‘multiple’ positive virus tests, cancels Dec. 4 game
EL PASO, Texas – In the wake of several members of the Miners football program testing positive for Covid-19, which forced the cancellation of Saturday's game at Rice, UTEP officials on Sunday announced the cancellation of next weekend's game too.
"Miner football team activities have been suspended temporarily, and the upcoming home game versus Southern Miss has been canceled," UTEP Director of Athletics Jim Senter said in a statement in which he confirmed that "multiple members of our football team tested positive for the virus."
It’s the third straight UTEP game to be called off, starting with UAB on Nov. 20 because of coronavirus issues within the UAB program.
With the Dec. 4 matchup against Southern Miss now scrapped, the only game remaining on UTEP's schedule will be a Dec. 12 home contest with North Texas. But that game may also be in doubt.
"We will make a determination on the remainder of the season once we have received the results of our next regularly scheduled test,” Senter explained, adding that the university is following the recommendations of team doctors and sports medicine experts.
If UTEP's football season were to end now, the Miners would finish with a 3-4 record overall, going 0-3 in Conference USA play.
